Jen's Advice, Part 2. AKA: Downton Abbey returns.

I am telling you, my friend Jen is a genius!  Do you hear that Jen?  YOU ARE A GENIUS!  In my last post I shared some sage advice Jen gave me regarding how to not beat myself up as a mother.  What I didn't tell you, (but turned out to be amazing) is the advice she gave me on cleaning my house.  We all know that a big part of the reason I started blogging was so that I could get my house in order and teach my kids to be self sufficient too.  And there has been some progress on that front:  kids doing their own laundry, Saturday chores implemented and a new allowance system that so far is working out well.  This is all great but it still didn't change the fact that I ALWAYS feel behind.  At the end of every day there is still a number of things left on my to-do list and I was constantly feeling like I was never going to get caught up.

Here's a secret:  I'm never going to get caught up.  Like really--never.  There will always be laundry to do and shelves to dust and bathrooms to clean and dishes to wash and socks to pick up (so many socks…) and a million other things.  There just will be.  But this week, thanks to Jen I think I finally embraced that concept.

Your dying to know what her solution is aren't you?  Here it is:  she cleans her house once a week.  That's it.  One day a week she does her general cleaning and then the other days she just does kitchen duty.  I know what some of you are thinking:  "duh!"  Now there are a lot of you much smarter than me  who have been doing this for years so there is a tiny part of you that thinks I'm sort of an idiot.  Here's another secret:  I kind of am.  I mean, I've spent so much time researching cleaning strategies and organizing methods (stupid pinterest…) all in the hopes of having this perfect tidy little house.  You know--the kind where you aren't panicked when the doorbell rings unexpectedly or your teenage son brings home a car full of kids.  And so that's why every day I feel guilty when I sit down to read people.com (must keep up on the latest Hollywood gossip) instead of doing more housework.

So for the last two weeks I decided to try Jen's approach and it was so LIBERATING!  Honestly, I have felt so much better.  The beginning of each week I (and the kids as part of their Saturday chore) did all the general stuff:  bathrooms, vacuuming, mopping, dusting, and general cleaning and straightening.  The rest of the week I just did the kitchen and some very minimal straightening which mostly involved me hounding the boys to pick up their socks and trash. (Obviously I still have not solved the great sock dilemma).  Do you know what I did every day instead of feeling guilty about everything not done on my list?  I exercised more, I cooked actual meals, I did crafts with my daughter, read a book without guilt, redid the hall bathroom and actually sat down and watched the first two episodes of Downton Abbey.  (Side note:  am I the only one that thinks Mrs. Padmore is hilarious?  And Cora is just whiny and annoying?  And please tell me Branson is not going to fall for that annoying Edna?  I mean seriously!  She is SO annoying! )

I have to tell you--this whole approach did wonders for my mood and it's all because of Jen.  So cheers to you Jen!  May you be blessed with an endless supply of Diet Coke and chocolate truffles and anything else your heart desires.  In the meantime I'm off to spend some quality time with Lady Mary and Carson the butler.  Now a butler…that's an idea...